WHAT A FEBRUARY
WORKSHOP, DANCES, AND CLASSES... OH, MY!

I always seem to look forward to our upcoming activities, but February just seems out of control fun! We've got our Aerials Workshop (which is selling out fast, so don't wait too much longer to sign up), we've got four GREAT bands for Rusty's, and another fabulous series of classes at Lindy by the Sea.

PLUS, MY BIRTHDAY ROUNDUP THIS FRIDAY*

*REMEMBER!
NO DANCE THIS WEDNESDAY
NO DANCE THIS WEDNESDAY
NO DANCE THIS WEDNESDAY

WHEN IS THERE A DANCE?

THIS FRIDAY!

Well, do I look the same from when I was four years old?

You can just bet this was my favorite outfit of all time. I can still remember exactly what it felt like and how much I loved wearing it. So much so, that I had Annamarie Firley of RevampVintage recreate it for me in grownup size some years ago - and I get to wear it every year at Rusty's at my "Western Roundup B-Day dance." Whoopee!!!!

And my birthday dream came true this year in getting to book The Lucky Stars for my party. They are the best outfit out there playing vintage Western Swing music. See below in our Clip of the Week for more info on them and the history of this wonderful music.

Join me in your finest Western garb
THIS coming Friday, February 4th to celebrate.

AND WE'VE GOT THEM BACK....

THE JIVE ACESAll the way from the UK

This great bunch of guys only makes one or two trips to the USA a year, and we've got them book at Rusty's. So make sure to mark your calendar - Wednesday, February 16th. More to follow in upcoming newsletters.

See you on the dance floor!

SIGN UP NOW
FEBRUARY 6th - AERIALS WORKSHOP!

For those thinking of doing the Aerials Workshop and for those already excited about it, take a look at our THIS CLIP - the two aerials we're going to work on are at: :21 (The Bocker) and 1:10 (The Helicopter). Wow! Of course, this group of dancers - Whitey's Lindy Hoppers - had been doing these aerial for years by the time this clip was shot, and were known for their amazing acrobatics. So you won't look quite as amazing... close... but not quite (wink).

* TUESDAY'S FEATURED CLASS:

CONNECTION & STYLING... PLUS THE SHIM SHAM!

Special request from our Tuesday nite students brings back a wonderful class to elevate your level of connection and styling. We'll be doing loads of little exercises, short-cuts to getting better connection in lead and follow, as well as teaching many wonderful styling points. This class will be a real opportunity to focus in on these specific aspects of dancing that really are at the heart and soul of Lindy Hop.

In addition, we will also be teaching one step of the famous Shim Sham each week, so you'll never have sulk off the floor when the masses are dancing away!

Join me at one of our regions most original and fun events of the year. I'll be hosting the dance class, and you can join that to show all the newbies how it's done and then enjoy the rest of this truly amazing event. Here's a bit of the story from their website:

The Fort MacArthur Museum is proud to present what has become one of our most popular signature events. The Great Los Angeles Air Raid of 1942 is the museums celebration of one of the most fascinating and controversial events in Los Angeles History. A night when literally thousands of people both Military and Civilian were convinced that Los Angeles was being attacked from the air, and even from space!!! What really happened that night is a debate that will probably go on for years, but for those of us it's a time to remember the feeling of those early days of the World War II.

In February 1942, the realities of the second world war was just starting to become evident here is the southland. The Great LA Air Raid of 1942 is a fundraiser for the Fort MacArthur Museum and attempts to recreate the atmosphere of a 1942 social evening out, interrupted by the reality of war.

Want to learn more about the Great Los Angeles Air Raid?
Go to the event website for the whole story plus pictures and more videos: www.theairraid.com

THE LUCKY STARS
GET ACQUAINTED WITH VINTAGE WESTERN SWING

Western Swing has a strong place in our swing dance history, often unrecognized. One of our local heroes, Miss Jean Veloz (age 86) fondly remembers going dancing at little honkey tonks with her brother during the 1940s and dancing to the "best Western Swing!"

For those interested, here is a little history of the music:

Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat; which attracted huge crowds to dance halls and clubs in Texas, Oklahoma and California during the 1930s and 40s until a federal war-time nightclub tax in 1944 led to its decline.

The movement was an outgrowth of jazz, and similarities with Gypsy jazz are often noted. The music is an amalgamation of rural, cowboy, polka, folk, Dixieland jazz and blues blended with swing; and played by a hot string band often augmented with drums, saxophones, pianos and, notably, the steel guitar. The electrically-amplified stringed instruments, especially the steel guitar, give the music a distinctive sound. Later incarnations have also included overtones of bebop.

Western swing differs in several ways from the music played by the nationally-popular horn-driven big swing bands of the same era. In Western bands—even the fully orchestrated bands—vocals and other instruments followed the fiddle's lead. Additionally, although popular horn bands tended to arrange and score their music, most Western bands improvised freely, either by soloists or collectively.

Prominent groups during the peak of Western swing's popularity included The Light Crust Doughboys, Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys, Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies, and Spade Cooley and His Orchestra. Contemporary groups include Asleep at the Wheel and The Hot Club of Cowtown.

According to legendary guitarist Merle Travis, "Western swing is nothing more than a group of talented country boys, unschooled in music, but playing the music they feel, beating a solid two-four rhythm to the harmonies that buzz around their brains. When it escapes in all its musical glory, my friend, you have Western swing."

Founded in 2000 by Rusty Frank's swing dance students, the club has two missions:
Having Fun and doing good deeds.
Volunteers go to hospitals, ,senior homes, and community events for the purpose of good deeds, entertainment, and education in the Los Angeles area.

The Swing Shift Rhythm Club (SSRC) is a volunteer club open to the public and the events are organized by it's members.
There are no dues, members can attend as many or as few events as they wish.